What happens to Canada’s currency, stamps, place names after the Queen’s death?
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Digital Subscription
One year of digital access for only $205*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 08/09/2022 (1472 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
OTTAWA – Queen Elizabeth II has been a constant presence in Canadians’ lives.
Her face is engraved on our coins. It graces the $20 bill and is featured on some of our stamps. Even buildings, parks, mountains and islands bear her name.
Here’s a look at some of the things that will — or won’t — change following her death:
— Coins: The Royal Canadian Mint says all coins engraved with the effigy of the Queen will remain legal tender and stay in circulation indefinitely. It notes that nickels bearing the likeness of her father, King George VI, are still legal tender today.
As new coins are produced, the Mint says it will be up to the government of Canada to decide whether to change the image on the obverse (heads side) of coins, where the Queen currently appears.
“The Mint must await the Government’s direction on a new obverse design when a change in Monarch occurs, but we will work closely with the appropriate authorities when this change is requested.”
— $20 bills: The Bank of Canada says the current polymer $20 bank note featuring the Queen will continue to circulate for years to come. Her image will eventually be replaced, however, by that of her successor.
“When it is eventually redesigned, the $20 note will continue to feature the reigning monarch,” the bank says.
— Stamps: Canada Post won’t say what will happen to existing stamps featuring the Queen’s image but will presumably continue to accept those used after her death as legal postage.
As for whether the new monarch’s image will appear on new stamps, Canada Post says: “We have a National Stamp Advisory Committee that evaluates and determines elements of stamp issues. These elements are only disclosed once the stamp is announced publicly.”
— Buildings, places and organizations named after the Queen: There is no reason to suppose many, if any, will change their names. After all, many buildings, places and organizations in Canada continue to bear the name of Queen Victoria more than a century after her death.
— Canadian Armed Forces: The Queen’s Own Rifles, Canada’s oldest infantry regiment, won’t be changing its name, which is actually in honour of Queen Victoria.
However, Queen Elizabeth’s passing will have some impact on more than a dozen other regiments, military branches and military organizations, for whom the Queen has been the titular head or patron.
According to the Department of National Defence, The Queen is colonel-in-chief to 12 armour and infantry regiments, including the Governor General’s Horse Guards. She holds the same title in the CAF Legal Branch and the Branch of Canadian Military Engineers and she is Captain General to the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery.
She is also patron to several navy-related organizations, including the Navy League of Canada and the Royal Canadian Naval Benevolent Fund.
Queen Elizabeth has filled these roles in her personal capacity. Hence, the titles “will not automatically transfer to the new Sovereign,” the department says.
Should they choose to name a new colonel-in-chief or patron, the department says each regiment or organization would have to submit a request to the new monarch, or other members of the Royal Family, for their consideration.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 8, 2022.
What happens with coins and money?
OTTAWA – Canadians are used to seeing Queen Elizabeth II on their money, but that could change following the death of the longest-serving British monarch and Canadian head of state.
However, the Bank of Canada, which produces Canada’s paper bills, said changes likely won’t be seen immediately.
The current $20 bank note featuring the Queen, is intended to circulate for years to come, the central bank said, and there is no legislative requirement to change the design within a prescribed period when the monarch changes, it said. New bank notes, including the portrait subject, are approved by the finance minister.
One observer says he doesn’t know if Canadians will ultimately see King Charles III, as he’s now known, on our bills.
“I don’t know if we will, since there is only the $20 that has the Queen on it, and Canadians may want to change this,” said University of Toronto business history professor Dimitry Anastakis.
The government will likely keep the Queen on the $20 bill for a while before any changes are made, however, he noted.
The Royal Canadian Mint, which manufactures and distributes Canada’s coins, said the government has exclusive jurisdiction over their design.
The mint said it will abide by the decision and timetable of the government on changing coins.
Mint spokesperson Alex Reeves said the legal tender status of coins currently in circulation does not change when a new monarch ascends the throne.
Coins with the face of the queen’s father, King George VI, circulated for decades after his death.
They are more likely to change sooner than bills, however, said Anastakis.
“It is quite likely that we will see (the King) on our coinage in the next year or two, but this depends on the Mint, and what their plans are.”
Anastakis said he doesn’t know if the Mint already has images of King Charles III for the coinage or if the monarch needs to designate an official image.
The King cannot face the same direction as the Queen, who faces right, he added. Each monarch faces in the opposite direction to the one before.
Although it is tradition to feature the reigning monarch on Canadian currency, there are no rules requiring this.
The Queen appeared on the Bank of Canada’s first series of bank notes as a child in 1935.
-The Canadian Press
